Frideric Rhodes
'Frideric Rhodes '(born 041.M42) was a Captain in the 43rd Regiment of the Ashimar Nova Guard. A distinguished veteran with over a half century of military service, Frideric has spent his entire adult life with the Imperial Guard, and is the most decorated soldier in his regiment. His service record is one that should have seen him become a General long ago, but Frideric refused promotion past the rank of Lieutenant for decades, seeing himself as ill-suited for command positions higher than the platoon level, though he eventually relented and retired as a Captain. During the Siege of Ashimar, Frideric, having settled down in a small farming village, ended up leading a guerrilla resistance movement against the invading Chaos forces. After the Siege, he returned to military service, had his commission reinstated, and now serves as an instructor for the Ashimar Youth Cadet Army, training the next generation of Ashimar Nova Guard. History Early Life and Career Like many Guardsmen, Frideric was born into the Guard. His parents were both non-commissioned officers in the Ashimar 43rd Nova Guard - his father, Alfon Rhodes, was a Sergeant Major, while his mother, Monika Rhodes, was a supply sergeant and quartermaster. The values of the Guard were pressed into Frideric by his parents from a young age, and he learned to field-strip, maintain, and fire a lasgun more or less as soon as he could walk. Frideric served in the Ashimar 43rd's cadre of Youth Cadets alongside the children of other Guardsmen, and became a full member of the regiment on his 18th birthday. By 069.M42, a decade into his service with the Ashimar 43rd, Frideric had reached the rank of Sergeant and was a squad commander. At the time, the Ashimar 43rd was participating in the Mura Campaign, fighting Orks on the agri-world of Mura Secundus. While Frideric and Alfon were on the front lines, the battalion headquarters was ambushed by a thousands-strong Ork mob. Monika took part in the last desperate defense of the base, and as it was about to be overrun she detonated the base's munitions stockpiles, killing thousands of Orks in the resulting explosion that claimed her life. A despondent Alfon was killed in action a few months later. Despite losing both of his parents in the same campaign, Frideric did not despair; instead he did what he felt any true Guardsman would do and soldiered on. Battle of Kaluga Frideric's moment of glory would come during one of the key battles in the Ashimar 43rd's history, the Battle of Kaluga, in 079.M42. While garrisoned on the hive world of Kaluga, the Ork Waaagh! of Warboss Steelklaw invaded the planet. When the Warboss took to the field himself, it was Frideric's squad of veterans who faced him down, and all of them fell in battle except for him. Frideric's left arm was pinned in rubble after an explosion, and he was forced to amputate his own arm with a power sword to avoid being killed by the Warboss. Frideric then slayed Steelklaw with a well-placed grenade toss into the Ork's mouth before passing out from shock, and he was found and carried to safety by Sayla Amyras, a Sister of Battle from the Order of the Eternal Flame who would go on to become its Canoness Superior. For his heroism, Frideric was awarded the Star of Terra and commissioned as a Lieutenant, and received an augmetic left arm of the highest quality a Guardsman could hope for. Frideric had the arm modified so that the forearm could be detached at the elbow and swapped out with a lasgun. This lasgun arm would become his signature weapon. Later Service Frideric continued to serve with great distinction throughout the remaining years of the 42nd millenium's first century. He participated in the Ashimar 43rd's mission to rescue the nearly-destroyed Soul Scythes chapter from the Necron menace that had slumbered beneath their fortress-monastery, and battled the Tau on Arappo and Bleron after the Ashimar 43rd was shipped across the galaxy to combat the Fifth Sphere Expansion. Following the Plague Wars, where Frideric fought alongside the Ultramarines 4th Company on the world of Dromon, he and several other Ashimar 43rd veterans were deployed to the hive world of Weytera to act as military advisors for the Weyteran regiments. When a warband of Night Lords launched their attack on the Weyteran Underhive, Frideric was the sole survivor of a Night Lord attack on the complex he was stationed in, and hid inside a Chimera for 3 days until he was found by Inquisitor Azhera and her retinue, who were investigating disappearances in the underhive. Frideric joined forces with them to escape and they defeated the Night Lords with the aide of the Exorcists 3rd Company under Captain Silas Alberec. Frideric returned to the Ashimar 43rd following the incident, and declined a request from Inquisitor Azhera to permanently join her retinue as an acolyte. Following the Weyteran Underhive Incident, Frideric rejoined the Ashimar 43rd in the midst of its deployment on the agri-world of Feran, where it was fighting the Knights of Laeran and a force of Tau the warband had managed to turn to Slaanesh. The Six Blades Hunter Cadre, a unit hailing from the Farsight Enclaves, arrived to investigate the situation, and Frideric was present at the meeting between Lord General Voltek and Commander Dia'sha, the leader of the Six Blades. When a large trendril of Hive Fleet Kraken arrived and forced all combatants on Feran to work together in order to survive, Frideric participated in the defense of the planetary capital alongside the rest of the Ashimar 43rd and the Six Blades. The Ashimar 43rd suffered during the Feran Crusade and subsequent deployments, leading to the deaths of many of its higher officers. Due to a shortage of experienced officers, Frideric ended up in command of a company, and eventually he finally accepted promotion to the rank of Captain. When the Ashimar 43rd finally returned to Ashimar after over two decades away on campaign, Frideric, tired of war and fighting, opted not to re-enlist in the Nova Guard. Instead he collected his back pay and retired to a mountain cabin in Ashimar's Dausos region, wanting to experience peace after living nearly eight decades of nothing but war. Siege of Ashimar Frideric's peace would not last long, as barely a year after his retirement, Ashimar was under imminent threat of invasion by the Ashen Maulers. Frideric's former commanding officer, General Ulric Tokar, would seek him out and attempt to convince him to return to service, but Frideric remained unconvinced. When Ashimar had such powerful allies coming to its aid, including elements of Titan Legions, several Adeptus Astartes chapters, and even a small force of Custodes, what difference would one old soldier make? First Marshal Ludara Kresh's battle plans would be in no way affected by his service or lack of service, Frideric would explain, and surely a General such as Tokar had more important matters to attend to. Frideric would defend the small farming village he had settled near, seeing it as a place where he actually ''could ''make a difference, a place that the overall defense would ignore. Seeing the merit in Frideric's argument, Tokar would depart. During the Siege of Ashimar, Frideric would lead a guerrilla resistance movement against the Ashen Maulers, fighting an irregular war against the Chaos forces behind their lines in which he drew upon his decades of combat experience to organize a loose band of civilian farmers into an effective fighting force. They spent years harassing Chaos patrols, disrupting supply lines, and serving as scouts and spies for other Imperial forces fighting to defend Ashimar. Frideric's sense of duty was reinvigorated by these experiences, and after the Siege he chose to come out of retirement. His exploits had gained the attention of First Marshal Ludara Kresh, who had a use for experienced veterans like Frideric. Frideric's commission as a Captain was reinstated and he was assigned a new post as an instructor for the Ashimar Youth Cadet Army. There he oversees the training of Ashimar Youth Cadets in much the same way as he trained his guerrillas to fight during the Siege, and has left an indelible mark on the Ashimar Nova Guard's future soldiers. Personality Having been raised within the regiment's culture his entire life, Frideric exemplifies the values of the Ashimar Nova Guard. He is noble, honorable, selfless, and always committed to doing what he believes is the right thing. On the battlefield he is perfectly at home, his fearlessness and resolve inspiring the Guardsmen around him to follow his example. Outside of combat, Frideric is a remarkably laid-back and casual individual who is cheerful, talkative, good-humored, and capable of fitting in with both officers and enlisted Guardsmen alike, though he prefers the company of the latter. Within the Ashimar 43rd he is a friend to all and an enemy of none. Equipment Frideric's signature armament is his lasgun arm, a modification made to his augmetic left arm allowing it to be swapped out at the elbow with a lasgun. This lasgun is heavily modified to have a higher rate of fire than a standard M36 lasgun, and Frideric makes use of overcharge packs for increased damage and penetration. Frideric also often carries a laspistol, grenades, and a combat knife. Quotes By Frideric Rhodes About Frideric Rhodes Category:Characters Category:Imperium Category:Imperial Characters Category:Imperial Guard Category:Imperial Guard Characters Category:Ashimar Category:Ashimar Nova Guard